


Card Tricks for Kisses

by cecilantro



Series: 100 Days Of Ficlets [28]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 13:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14106609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cecilantro/pseuds/cecilantro
Summary: Caleb's want for information rolls into a different kind of trust.





	Card Tricks for Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> i totally just wrote this in college instead of writing plans

Caleb had been a little bit obsessed with decrypting Mollymauk’s tattoos since the bath, which, granted, wasn’t exactly that long ago. Long enough for Caleb to riffle through books at Chastity’s Nook, though, and find a couple about imagery, and symbolism in tattoo placement on the body. He’d surreptitiously slid them into his bag under Jester and Beau’s noses, receiving a wink from the shop owner when he slid her the coin for them.

 

He spent the night following studying and reading them, a few times despite the lack of need. From the first page to the last, he had it all memorised, but he enjoyed the texture of the pages in one hand, the other busy with a glass of whatever Mollymauk’s round was, most likely gin.  
“Refill?” Molly seemed to materialise at Caleb’s shoulder, but between Nott, and Molly himself, he was used to it and did not flinch. He looked, tired, to Molly, the signature smile and lock of hair that always seemed to fall forward, either at Molly’s designation, or by its own accord, Caleb couldn’t tell.  
He tipped the last of the drink into his throat.  
“Please.” He nodded to Molly, held his glass to him, but Molly was… distracted.  
He slid the book on imagery out from under Caleb’s other hand, his fingers dragged along the pages as it went, unconsciously scrambling to hold on.  
It was open to the page on flowers, their individual meanings, colours, shades. There were a few leaves of bookmarks, and Caleb winced as Molly began to flick to each of the bookmarked pages, a shadow of worry on his face, he looked to Caleb at the _pyramid_ page.  
“I wouldn’t recommend this.” He snapped the book closed and waved it in front of Caleb’s face, only Jester’s loud, excited conversation keeping the others from turning in their direction. Caleb flushed a little, a combination of indignation and embarrassment at being caught.  
“I- I- I am researching, Mollymauk, that is my _thing_ , you, you know-”  
“Caleb.” Molly sat at the closest opportunity, which happened to be the corner of Caleb’s chair, and half on his knee. The seriousness of his expression overrode any joy Caleb could possibly have taken from it.  
“Mollymauk.” He chose to reply, instead.  
“There are things that you can’t know about me.” Molly levelled at him, meeting his eyes, serious and solemn, “Not yet, at least. To put you in harms way unnecessarily- I couldn’t, my conscience.” and he shook his head, just a little, “I can’t lose people that I care about, Caleb, and I care about you. So please, just… give it up.”  
Caleb blinked at him as the words trickled into his mind, slowly, filtered for meaning and lies and deception and Caleb found nothing but pure, clear truth.  
Molly had put the book down on the table when he sat. Caleb looked from the book to Molly’s genuine, open face, and picked it up. He offered it to him, silent, and Molly took it with one hand, slung the other around Caleb’s shoulders, and squeezed.  
“Good boy.”  
Caleb leaned into him, warmth, shocked at the sudden longing and need for the contact. Touch starvation, perhaps, it registered as such in the back of his mind, and Molly didn’t begrudge him the gift, if anything, he slid a little closer, a little further onto Caleb’s lap, his arm a little tighter, his head a little closer. His horn bumped, very lightly, Caleb’s skull, he twisted until Caleb’s head slipped under, they rested together instead. Caleb steadied his breathing, relaxed, a little bit, let his shoulders drop under Molly’s arm, Molly tilted just a little and kissed at Caleb’s temple.  
Jester rested her chin in her hands, a soft, if dramatic sigh falling from her,  
“Ah, this is adorable.”  
Caleb started, hard, the sharp of Molly’s jaw clattering hard into the side of his head.  
“Ow.”  
“Sorry!” Jester seemed genuinely aghast at the repercussions, Caleb peeled himself from Molly painfully, let the tiefling spring to his feet beside him.  
“Uh, Jester?” Beau pushed her arm for her attention, “Maybe we should go to bed. It’s late.”  
Caleb shot a grateful, somewhat sad look to her. Beau’s returning glance was unreadable, somewhere between caution and pity and the locked jaw of annoyance, perhaps.  
Jester turned to her, and if she caught on to Beau’s ulterior motives, she said nothing, just beamed,  
“Yes, yes, I’m very tired,” and twisted back to Molly and Caleb, “I’ll see you in the morning!”  
“Goodnight.” Molly and Caleb replied in almost haunting unison, Jester let Beau take her arm and pull her up the stairs, gentle and quiet chatter. On the other side of the table, Fjord pushed himself to his feet, and waved to Caleb,  
“I’ll take Nott t’ bed, if y’ want, Caleb?” it was a gentle offer with implications behind it, but Caleb took it, his shoulders ached and burned, his wounds may have been closed, but his injuries still twinged and hurt. He slid his key across the table, Fjord took it, nimble, and scooped Nott up with his free arm, trembling a little under her weight. She grumbled, wriggled, and settled as he began to make his way up to the rooms.  
Caleb turned, immediately, to Molly, and before he could fully hold his hand out, Molly wass back in his earlier place. He looped both arms around Caleb’s neck and rested his head to his shoulder, let the corner of the chair take the majority of his weight, slung his legs over Caleb’s. Caleb, in return, slipped an arm around his waist and settled in, comfortable in the entanglement, almost as though they were lovers.  
And oh, wouldn’t that be wonderful?  
Molly withdrew a hand from Caleb’s neck to slide to his pocket, he withdrew the velvet pouch of his tarot cards, set it on the table to pull them out. His fingers, practiced, nimble, Caleb wondered how many times he’d done this sort of thing before. One hand, preoccupied, with a scimitar, a stroke, a gentle touch, lacing with someone else’s fingers or the hair at the back of their head, the other loosening the gold ribbon on the royal purple of the velvet, slipping inside, withdrawing. He set the cards on the top of the velvet pouch and gestured,  
“Take three.”  
Caleb obeyed without question, flicking across the tops of the cards, careful, one handed. He wasn’t like Molly, not dexterous enough to be nimble and fluid, but he managed to pick three that felt right, slip them to the side, Molly took them as they fell free of his deck and shifted them between the fingers of the hand on Caleb’s beck, briefly, he tucked the rest of the deck away into the bag and set that aside.  
“Top to bottom okay?” Molly asked, and Caleb took a few seconds to think,  
“Bottom to top.” he said, and Molly nodded, flicking the cards into place.  
“In the past, The Tower,” Molly turned the card, spoke the name before seeing the image, so familiar with the feel of his own deck, “Catastrophic change, destruction, irreparable damage.” And at the first flicker of horror in Caleb’s eyes, he pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, letting the wizard distract and fill himself with affection.  
“Your present, The Lovers,” he turned the card, and his eyebrows raised, a little, in surprise, “Reversed.”  
“Reversed?”  
Molly settled the card, “Representing frustrating romantic inclinations, or infidelity, but I don’t think that last bit applies to you.”  
“No.” Caleb replied, quiet as he collapsed in on himself a little, lonely star to black hole, thinking. Molly squeezed for his attention as he turned the last card,  
“The Page of Cups.” a smile played at the edge of Molly’s lips and voice as he set it back down, “Another romance card, Caleb. Something on your mind?”  
“Hm. Perhaps. Tell me about the card, and I will tell you the answer.”  
Molly’s thumb began a rhythm of soft stroking against Caleb’s neck.  
“A card of dreams and romance in your future, an opportunity will appear to you to further your emotional life, and bring you joy. The Page emphasises the need to claim such a chance with courage when it presents itself.”  
Caleb lifted his free hand to his mouth to cover the smallest of smirks.  
Molly caught it anyway.  
“Ah-ah.” he batted Caleb’s hand away and took his chin, tilting the wizard’s head up for a better look, “I was promised the answer.”  
“I suppose,” Caleb told him, carefully, searching and reading, “That depends on whether this- this is the opportunity your cards are telling me about.”  
Molly’s gaze dropped, his smile grew a little wider, almost terrifying in its predatory nature,  
“Are you _flirting_ with me, Caleb?”  
“You are the one sitting on my lap, you tell me.” Caleb knew that his battle was won. He switched from nervous, calculating, to relaxed and mischievous, a part of himself he preferred. As did Molly, apparently, as he wriggled to rest a little lower, more on eye level with him.  
“I don’t know, this doesn’t really _feel_ like solicitation.” Molly teased, and Caleb rolled his eyes a little.  
“To flirt is to dance around the issue, that seems to be a strong suit of ours.” Caleb tilted his head for a better, more challenging angle.  
“I would far prefer a more direct approach.” Molly challenged right back, and Caleb grinned, a little,  
“Then would it be better for me to kiss you now?”  
“Oh,” Molly said, the lilt of genuine surprise and pleasure a thrum to his voice, “Yes, please.”  
And so he did, the challenging tilt proving useful as he fit against Molly, puzzle piece, and pressed a kiss to his lips. Molly hummed, content, warmth of alcohol and love and comfort, his free hand cupped to Caleb’s cheek, the other keeping its rhythm on the back of his neck, they relax.  
Caleb drew back to draw breath, Molly’s came in one gulp, he smiled.  
“Ah, good,” He told Caleb, affectionate, “You listened to the Page.”  
As Caleb kissed him again, he tucked the card carefully back into his sleeve.

**Author's Note:**

> This makes four full weeks of fic! A month! I'm so proud!!!


End file.
